A Possible Oversight of 4:34???
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Greetings and Peace, all group
What is the point that makes consider that l-nisa can't mean women in general in 4911?
It is not 4911 by itself; when juxtaposed with other parts of AQ the quandary becomes clearer. Whatever the meaning is, it has to fit in 4911 (and all other parts of AQ) where the word is used.
In 434 "women" would mean that any man can beat any woman. This wouldn't make sense. In 2222 "women" would mean "all women"; it doesn't make sense for a man to approach "all women" sexually--it is reserved for his wife (or wives).
Wives doesn't make sense in all places, especially 43. One can't marry a wife! Why would a word flip/flop meaning, if another word exists that has definite meaning? There must be an error in the understanding of the word.
In light of 43, the meaning that ~seems~ to make the most sense is post-pubescent woman--perhaps "post-pubescent woman who is protected" would be even better.
ALLAH knows best.
peace
~Abdul-Hadi
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Abdul Hadi and Mazhar,
Salaam 'Alaykum.
Mazhar, I like the explanation that was given by Abdul Hadi concerning 4911. I would like to add something else to that.
Specifically looking at 4911, the traditional understanding is that the second exhortation is directed towards WOMEN!! We should take a closer look at this. Here is the translation by Free-Minds...
O you who believe, let not any PEOPLE ridicule other PEOPLE, for they may be better than they. Nor shall any WOMEN ridicule other WOMEN, for they may be better than they. Nor shall you mock one another, or call each other names; miserable indeed is the name of wickedness after attaining faith. And anyone who does not repent, then these are the transgressors.
The two key words in this verse are the words PEOPLE and WOMEN which is why I have underlined them. Now, we should look at this verse in the original Arabic. Sorry I do not have Arabic fonts on my PC. I'll do my best to 'Transliterate' it as I have in my original post...
Yaaa ayyuhuul 'aladheena 'amanoo Laa yaskhar QAWMUN min QAWMIN 'asaa 'an yakunoo khairun minhum wa laaa NISAA'UN mmin NISAA'IN 'an yakoonna khairun min hunna wa laa talmizuu 'anfusakum wa laa tanaabazoo bil 'alqaab bi' sa' al ismul fusooq ba'adal eeman wa mal lam yatub fa'ulaaika hum ad-dhaalimoon
The first word, Qawmun/Qawmin means people, nation, tribe among other definitions. Because of this, all of the translations have rendered this word as "PEOPLE" as the Free-Minds translation has it. Where it gets tricky is that "PEOPLE" encompasses EVERYONE, INCLUDING WOMEN!! So it would make no sense to speak about the actions of a PEOPLE and then speak about the actions of only WOMEN in the same breath. WOMEN were already included in the FIRST group which is QAWMUN.
To speak about men AND women, then the first word should NOT be QAWMUN. It should be another word representing a male, man or men and juxtapose the two genders as a pair just as it does in many other places such as 2430-31, 242 and 243 just to cite a few examples.
So if QAWMUN and NISAA'UN are mentioned as opposites of an equal pair, then that means that this word (Nisaa' means something totally different than what we have been taught that it means and how it is translated in the present translations.
Something I have mentioned in my opening post I wish to mention again;
In the Arabic language, the plural form of a word will ALWAYS be constructed from the same root as its singular counterpart. Thus we have Masjid and Masaajid. We have Mal and Amwaal. We have Kitab and kutub.
For the singular for man, we have the word Rajul and the plural is Rijaal. BUT, the singular word woman is Imraa' YET we are taught its plural form is NISAA'???!! A TOTALLY unrelated word from a TOTALLY unrelated root!!!
Because of this, I wish to repeat my earlier request. If someone wishes to convince me that Nisaa' is the plural for Imraa', then PLEASE show me another Word In The Quran as well as another word from the available Arabic Vocabulary that has a singular and plural form from two entirely, different and unrelated roots.
Once we realize that we cannot HONESTLY do so, then we can continue our journey of "Process of Elimination" and arrive at the accurate or more appropriate definition of this word Nisaa'.
Salaam.
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Peace Shirley,
The translation of "nisaa" has been bothering me for a while as well. I made a thread almost a month ago in regards to my misunderstanding of the ablution process (http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9602871.0) that involves the word as well. Maybe it can also help for finding a possible meaning.
I'm very interested in seeing the outcome of this topic. Have you any ideas to offer in the meanwhile?
May peace be with you.
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http//www.haqeeqat.org.pk/English%20Tafsir%20e%20Haqeeqat/00.Arabic%20Text/temp%2002%20%202.104a.gif
http//www.haqeeqat.org.pk/English%20Tafsir%20e%20Haqeeqat/00.Arabic%20Text/049.%20Al%20Hujrat/49.11.gif
Some people of a community should not indulge in mocking/ridiculing another group of community, since it is possible that they might be better than them;http//www.haqeeqat.org.pk/English%20Tafsir%20e%20Haqeeqat/00.Arabic%20Text/049.%20Al%20Hujrat/49.11a.gif
and nor a group of women from amongst women should indulge mocking/ridiculing other women, it is possible that they might be better than them;The word is NOT used to signify a community of women alone.
The word originally signifies a group of men.
The word when signifies a "Nation" it includes women alongwith men as well.First is the subject of Jussive Verb and with apposition is the subject of verb, for which reason both are nominative. The preposition signifies subset of a group. It has been made distinct the advice is both for men and women. The pronouns used are also distincty for men and women.
The verb cannot be used if even only one man is included therein amongst thousands and hundreds of thousands of women.
The same word, which has only plural form, is used, in relation, for wives
The object of verb means "wives" and not women.
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Some people of a community should not indulge in mocking/ridiculing another group of community, since it is possible that they might be better than them;
Okay, so far this grammatically is sound.
and nor a group of women from amongst women should indulge mocking/ridiculing other women, it is possible that they might be better than them;
This is where I disagree with you. In the first part of the verse, the word Qawmun is clearly NOT definite. Because the definite article is not included, then the word Qawmun means A group/community/nation.
Secondly, you translated it as SOME people when the Arabic word for some (Ba'dun) is not mentioned in this verse. So it is NOT Some People. It is do not mock/ridicule A NATION/GROUP of PEOPLE at A NATION/GROUP of PEOPLE possibly they are better than them.
Third of all, when speaking on Nisaa', it is done as a continuation from speaking on Qawmun because the second part of the verse says Wa Laa....which means AND/AS WELL AS...
Fourthly, there is a double standard in the way in which you have translated the part of the verse on Nisaa'. The first part, you have translated it as people of a community should not indulge in mocking/ridiculing ANOTHER group of community and yet translated the concerns of Nisaa' as nor a group of women from amongst women should indulge mocking/ridiculing other women
There is something wrong with this part of the translation. First you have mentioned the incorrect definition of women Three Times in your translation when the original Arabic mentions the word Nisaa' only two times.
Also, the address of Nisaa' is a continuation of what has been started with Qawmun in the beginning of the verse. There has been no change in the context or senntence. But in the first part talking about Qawmun, you have translated the word min to mean another but then translate this same word to mean from amongst women and this is done in order to make your understanding fit. From amongst nisaa' would be min nisaa', but since min nisaa' is mentioned only once you would have to make a decision as to which one it means.....AMONGST nisaa' or AT nisaa'. It cannot mean both at the same time. It could only mean one or the other. And the BEGINNING CONTEXT of this verse compels me to choose the ATnisaa' meaning.
The word is NOT used to signify a community of women alone.
I agree with you. It signifies an entire community/nation/group of PEOPLE. Men, women and children. So as I said, it is pointless and redundant to think that women alone are being talked about in the second part of the verse when they were already included in the first part of the verse sense women also are a part of a Qawm .
The word originally signifies a group of men.
There is not a single Arabic dictionary that says that the word Qawm originally signifies a group of men. I have read the term group of men being included as a possible definition, but nowhere have I ever read that it ORIGINALLY signifies a group of men.
Now, do I believe that it can mean or should mean men in many usages throughout The Quran?? Me personally, I say no. I will not ignore the fact that all of the Arabic dictionaries were written by MEN and the first one was written during the Abbasid era. These two facts have forced me to approach ALL Arabic dictionaries with minute caution. We also cannot ignore the FACT that the Arab culture and ethos always has been, is presently and more than likely will continue to be Male Chauvinist. This also effects meanings and definitions they will give to certain terms in their dictionaries.
The word when signifies a "Nation" it includes women alongwith men as well.
Exactly, this is the point that I have been trying to make.
No matter what else Sibawayh and those who copied him have to say, if something doesn't make sense, then it doesn't make sense. We should Put the grammar books down and exercise some common sense. Only then will we start to make sense of things that haven't been making any sense at all for centuries now.
Salaam.
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There is not a single Arabic dictionary that says that the word Qawm originally signifies a group of men. I have read the term group of men being included as a possible definition, but nowhere have I ever read that it ORIGINALLY signifies a group of men.
Now, do I believe that it can mean or should mean men in many usages throughout The Quran?? Me personally, I say no. I will not ignore the fact that all of the Arabic dictionaries were written by MEN and the first one was written during the Abbasid era. These two facts have forced me to approach ALL Arabic dictionaries with minute caution. We also cannot ignore the FACT that the Arab culture and ethos always has been, is presently and more than likely will continue to be Male Chauvinist. This also effects meanings and definitions they will give to certain terms in their dictionaries.
Quote from
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Secondly, you translated it as SOME people when the Arabic word for some (Ba'dun) is not mentioned in this verse. So it is NOT Some People. It is do not mock/ridicule A NATION/GROUP of PEOPLE at A NATION/GROUP of PEOPLE possibly they are better than them.
"Some" signifies an unspecified number, quantity, or proportion of a total.
"lil tabeez", to indicate division into parts.And it is a Mass noun. And the words used are . a subset of a set-some/unspecified number of people from a community/group of people. Similarly for women the words are a subset of women from the set of women.
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Quote from
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Thank you for quoting this excerpt from Lisaanul 'Arab. I stand corrected when I said there isn't a single dictionary that says Qawm originally signifies men. I do have a digital copy of Lisaanul 'Arab (as well as some other Arabic-Arabic Dictionaries) but hardly use it because I do not have a hardcopy of it which is my preference.
Now, you and I have a choice as to rather we would accept or not accept this interpretation. I am sure you have chosen to ACCEPT it. I choose NOT to accept it and I do so because the flaw in this interpretation is written in the explanation itself;
It says it signified men because Ar-Rijaal were dominant as compared to nisaa'. There are some problems with this. First, the REAL WORD for men is already mentioned here....Rijaal. One word is used to mean MEN and another word is adopted to mean men because men (rijaal) dominate over women (which nisaa' is incorrectly used to signify women).
Also, using a word to mean men (in place of a word which ALREADY EXISTS to mean men ) due to them dominating the opposite gender is an adaptation of that meaning as it is entirely based upon manmade criteria and male chauvinism.
Thirdly, I feel the need to re iterate what I had said in my last post. There are NO dictionaries or grammar books that are PRE ABBASID!!! Every Arabic grammar book and dictionary in existence are POST ABBASID. This is a very, very, very important thing to keep in mind when studying ANY grammar or dictionary of Arabic. Very Important!!
If you cannot (or will not) see the reality and importance of this aspect of "Islamic" history, then it would basically be pointless to have a discussion on Quranic Arabic understanding since you would be coming from one angle and understanding and I would be coming from the exact opposite angle and understanding.
But I will conclude at least this post by pointing out that Rajul has always been used to mean man and rijaal has always been used to mean men. How, why, where, and when did Qawm make its way to also mean men. Something to please, please, please contemplate....we have the SINGULAR form for rijaal which is rajul. But WHERE is the singular form of Qawm if Qawm means MEN. This is a plural form so it MUST have a singular form as well. It looks like this wordplay on Qawm has the same flaw as the wordplay on Imra'a and Nisaa'. If we use our minds, stop letting tradition and history do our thinking for us and ask KEY and CRITICAL questions, the flaws and bullet holes would start to reveal themselves.
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Fourthly, there is a double standard in the way in which you have translated the part of the verse on Nisaa'. The first part, you have translated it as people of a community should not indulge in mocking/ridiculing ANOTHER group of community and yet translated the concerns of Nisaa' as nor a group of women from amongst women should indulge mocking/ridiculing other women
There is something wrong with this part of the translation. First you have mentioned the incorrect definition of women Three Times in your translation when the original Arabic mentions the word Nisaa' only two times.
In translation, while keeping regard for the target language, an attempt need to be made to avoid "translation loss" to the maximum. "some people of a community"- signifies a group of people from amongst people=a group of women from amongst women. The preposition "Min" indicates sub division signifying a sub set from the main set.
Pl see the text, women are mentioned four times.
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Quran is the first arabic dictionary and grammar.
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There is not a single Arabic dictionary that says that the word Qawm originally signifies a group of men. I have read the term group of men being included as a possible definition, but nowhere have I ever read that it ORIGINALLY signifies a group of men.
Another quote-Lane
A people or body of persons composing a community and people or persons; a company or body or party of men without women; or of men and women together for the Qaum of every man is his party, and his kinsfolk or tribe.
I hope the purpose or cause of mentioning women separately would be understood for reason of prevailing perception about the word Qaum.
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"Some" signifies an unspecified number, quantity, or proportion of a total.
"lil tabeez", to indicate division into parts.And it is a Mass noun. And the words used are . a subset of a set-some/unspecified number of people from a community/group of people. Similarly for women the words are a subset of women from the set of women.
I feel that this explanation doesn't do anything for the simple fact that the Arabic word for Some or Some of is Ba'Ddun and this word simply doesn't exist in this verse. This word is mentioned in 236, so if 4911 is meant to mean Some Nisaa' then it would simply say Ba'Dd nisaa'. If it says it, it says. If it doesn't say it, then it doesn't say. For me it really is that simple.
The explanation above doesn't do anything for me in the face of Tasreef, asking critical questions, a willingness to THINK outside of the traditional box and use good ole' fashion common sense.
But that's just me.
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In translation, while keeping regard for the target language, an attempt need to be made to avoid "translation loss" to the maximum. "some people of a community"- signifies a group of people from amongst people=a group of women from amongst women.
But the problem is that there is an Arabic word for some or some of and that word is Ba'aDdun and this word is NOT mentioned or used in 4911, yet it is used elsewhere in The Quran. If the idea of SOME or SOME OF was meant to be conveyed, then the most appropriate word to convey that idea would have been used. But......
The preposition "Min" indicates sub division signifying a sub set from the main set.
This is picking and choosing. You have not translated this same word as a sub division signifying a subset from a main set in the first part of your translating relating to Qawm, but you are now translating this word differently as related to Nisaa' to make your understanding of women to fit in it. I cannot accept such a thing. But, that's just me.
Pl see the text, women are mentioned four times.
Women isn't mentioned AT ALL in this verse...let alone four times.
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Another quote-Lane
A people or body of persons composing a community and people or persons; a company or body or party of men without women; or of men and women together for the Qaum of every man is his party, and his kinsfolk or tribe.
I hope the purpose or cause of mentioning women separately would be understood for reason of prevailing perception about the word Qaum.
Nowhere in that paragraph does it say that Qawm Originally signified only men. And you are ignoring my questions I have been asking. If Qawm as a plural form mean men, then WHERE is the singular form for man using the root word QaaMa? And how can we have a singular word for woman and a word for the plural women from two totally unrelated roots? Where are the other words in The Quran and in The Arabic language which share these same phenomena's as you are attributing to Imraa', Nisaa' and Qawm? Remember, we already have an original word for men and that word is rijaal. And we have its singular form as well which is rajul. Where is this same thing for Qawm to show the singular form of man?
If you cannot point any of these things out to me, answer the questions I asked or show me some other words in The Quran and in The Arabic Language which have two different roots for their respective singular and plural forms, then I will not bother to respond to anything else you have to say unless you can tackle those very important and relevant issues.
There's a big difference between trying to ascertain the truth and simply trying to win an argument at all costs. I know the difference between the two and I know when a person I am engaging with is doing one thing or the other.
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Quote from Mazhar on Today at 111005 AM
Another quote-Lane
A people or body of persons composing a community and people or persons; a company or body or party of men without women; or of men and women together for the Qaum of every man is his party, and his kinsfolk or tribe.
I hope the purpose or cause of mentioning women separately would be understood for reason of prevailing perception about the word Qaum.
Nowhere in that paragraph does it say that Qawm Originally signified only men.
Take verbace and put mouse on both the words, you will get .
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Quote from Mazhar on Today at 103810 AM
In translation, while keeping regard for the target language, an attempt need to be made to avoid "translation loss" to the maximum. "some people of a community"- signifies a group of people from amongst people=a group of women from amongst women.But the problem is that there is an Arabic word for some or some of and that word is Ba'aDdun and this word is NOT mentioned or used in 4911, yet it is used elsewhere in The Quran. If the idea of SOME or SOME OF was meant to be conveyed, then the most appropriate word to convey that idea would have been used. But......
But you seem ignoring "Min" which is for denoting .
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Mazhar,
You are completely ignoring the questions that I have asked and the requests that I have made based upon those critical questions.
If/When you decide you would like to address those things then I will decide to continue a correspondence with you.
Until then......
If OPF, Abdul Hadi and Eikonoklastes wish to continue our discussion (and NOT defend pre taught and pre conceived arguments) I would be happy to do so.
For the record,
does not mean singular "man" which is why it is not (and I'm sure has never been) used to mean such in The Quran or in Actual written and/or spoken Arabic Text.I'm not interested in Theories, I prefer facts.